She Who Rocks
by Blind and Painted Avatards
Summary: I earthbend because my instincts tell me to. When I’m pounding on the ground, with the vibrations of my movements wizzing down the floor, I feel alive and free.... Toph POV of when disaster pulls the gang apart and closer together. Tokka. Kataang. Zutar
1. Earthbending

I earthbend because my instincts tell me to. When I'm pounding on the ground, with the vibrations of my movements wizzing down the floor, I feel alive and free. When I'm earthbending, I am one with nature, one with the ground, one with the dirt and the rocks. I'm not just a little blind girl who is standing in this world, but a blind girl who is part of it. I'm one with myself. I can trust the way my body moves, shifting stones into the hidden cracks lying beneath my feel. Independent and powerful, I feel unstoppable. I am exactly who I want to be.

When I earthbend, I'm truly me. When I'm earthbending all reality is lost. Every emotion, every problem, every person just blurs all that matters is me, my feet, and the Earth.

"Toph!," Sokka yells, his voice shreaking in a low groan.

I turn my head but continue to earthbend, pushing my feet back and forth as rocks fly towards a single tree. The tree is my target, and when I hit it, I feel a rush. I keep hitting it again and again. The braches begin to shake.

"Toph. I…I…you need to come now." His voice begins to become shaky and tears slowly formed around his eyes. I recognized this emotion, It's how I feel when I don't have the comfort of earth below my feet. You're shaking and full of tears when you feel helpless.

"What is it Sokka…is something wrong?" As I say this, the rock I slam misses the tree and instead thumps down the mountain and into the river.

"It's Katara, she's hurt." I lose balance and tumble to the ground. I stare at him, as my body freezes up. Words slowly merge from my mouth, one syllable at a time.

"Katara? Really? How? When?" . Sokka begins to run towards their camp, not wasting a single moment, not missing a single step. He motions me to follow. Pure determination is in his steps, his heat, and soul. I can feel his heart bet accelerating and notice mine beating faster with each step too.

A/N: Make sure to check out my friend's (whom I share an account with) story: "Blood," my other story "Firebending Master's KataraZuko Fight and our collaborative (and very creepy) story: "Suki's Story"


	2. At Katara's Side

She's lying there and I do not know what to do, or what to think. Aang's there with her, his arms holding her tight as a weak cry shudders from her mouth. It's the cry of pain. It's how an enemy sounds right before you give them the final blow. Right before they are about to lose. But Katara, she is no enemy to me.

"Don't just stand there! Do something!" Aang cries, anger filling his phrases. He puts Katara down and looks her directly in the eye. "You can make it Katara. Come on…make it!...Katara….Katara…" As her eyes begin to fade into a long sleep, Aang runs away, out of the room. He locks himself in an earth tent. A bright light escapes from his tent, but the earth is still as I stand there, unable to move. The feeling Aang is experience is the loss of hope. There is nothing worst than loosing hope.

Sokka runs to Katara's side. "Katara. You…you…you don't have to do this! Just heal yourself okay? You can do this! You can…" his voice begins to trail, I'm still frozen in my spot. I feel distant. Why is Katara dying? She said she never would turn her back on anyone who needs her and now she is. Do people need me?

Her eyes finally fade and Sokka begins to break down. "Katara! Oh my god! My sister! NOOO! NOO! NOO!" I run to her side, forcing the urge to run and escape to an earth tent myself, away from reality with the comfort of my earthbending.

"Katara. Listen to me. Listen to me close. I feel your heart beat. You are alive. You can make it. You have to make it Katara. You have to make it for Sokka and for Aang and for me. You got to make it." I say this soft. I do not know what to do in this situation. I shouldn't be in this situation. I'm just a kid. I'm just a puny thirteen-year-old blind girl. I shouldn't be in this situation.


	3. Avatar State

"I'm just a kid…just a kid…just a…" As I repeat these words in my head, the earth beneath me begins to shake. Hard.

I can feel the earthtent Aang has hid away in bursting into a million pieces, and hear a quick shriek, followed my sobbing. Sokka sits at Katara's side, as I attempt to comfort Aang.

I have never been the best at comforting people. I never really had played this roll before. This is probably because I never really had anyone to comfort me so I've just gotten into the routine of everyone for themselves. Of course, its different now that I'm traveling with the Avatar and have real friends.

"Aang! Aang! Calm down! Come on…." He continues to sob and begins to elevate from the ground. I assume he is now entering the Avatar state. I've experience this before whenever overwhelming rage filled his body. It was scary and dangerous, his power being stronger than ever.

The only person that can get him out of the Avatar state is Katara, and now she is on the ground: her heart beat becoming fainter and fainter….


	4. Shock

I cannot speak or breathe. I feel intense pain rising up my spine to my head as with tremendous force tears come pouring down my eyes. Sometimes I wish I never went with the Avatar. Sometimes I wish I just stayed with my parents, safe and without problems, where death came naturally and war seemed world's away.

When I finally lose touch of her heartbeat, there is no time for thought. Instincts run through my feet and in a split second a rock- made of pure metal- is flung through the air right at her heart. It is almost like I don't control my action anymore, that an outside force is shoving my feet to make that rock. What is going on? Am I trying to kill her?

A bolt of lightning comes from Aang who is still in full Avatar state: and off the ground where I cannot feel him. The bolt goes, straight through the rock I through and into Katara's heart. The lightening is strong enough to shock the heart into function and the metal rock controls and balances the lightning so it won't kill her.

Thump thump thump. Her heart begins to beat.

After a few seconds in shock, words finally splurge out of my mouth, "She's alive! She's made it." Sokka runs to her side immediately and her eyes begin to open. Tears of joy run through his face as he looks at me and mouths what I think is 'thank you.'

"Katara! Can you hear me? Katara!" He screams.

"Sokk….Sokk….whe……." Here voice is weak and her words hard to understand. She finally completes a full word, which then becomes a sentence. "Aang. Where's Aang. I…need…Aang."

"Katara. I'm here." He just has drifted out of the Avatar State.

"Aang, I love you Aang. I…I love you…"

"I love you too Katara." He answers without hesitation. "I love you more than anything in the world."


	5. Tragedy

"Aang, I love you Aang. I…I love you…"

"I love you too Katara." He answers without hesitation. "I love you more than anything in the world."

And then her skin fell pale, and her face cold. Tears rushed through my eyes. Katara was dead. 

These tears, these solemn marks of despair, are less a reflection of my emotional state and more a reflection of who I am. I'm strong, I'm powerful, but I am in no way a rock so sometimes even I cry. And it is at times like these that I sob. Sob over the lost hope and over the lost sense of meaning in this very fragile world I call home. I sob over my existence and over a dead body that lays before me and the life that it use to contain. It is in times like these that any sense of pride, any sense of justice, any sense of hope runs straight out of me and into my solemn tears, now trickling down my once brave face. My once happy face. 

I had felt her heartbeat and now it gone. I thought that we had done it. I thought that the rocks and the lightning were enough to save the little life left. I was wrong. Those final words "Aang I love you," were enough for someone, the spirits, the world, nature itself, to decide that she could die and it wouldn't matter. The thing is, it does matter. It matters to me, and to my Sokka, and most importantly to the Avatar. 

Aang is now on the ground and speechless. A thirteen-year-old boy can barely save the world on his best day let alone when he's an emotional wreck because the girl whom he loved, and who loved him just died after a few fake seconds of life and hope had been brought before us. 

For hours we lie there. It seems like days. Time seems to take no existence and life no meaning. When the sun rises I get up.

"It's just a dream." I think. "Katara is going to wake me up any minute now. She's going to be there." She isn't there. Aang is carrying her body down to the river today. 

"I can come with you." I had offered when he announced his plan. 

"No. I need to do this alone." 

And so we watch as he takes her away. Sokka speaks for the first time since she died, after she woke up and seemed better for those last few minutes.

Words begin to form slowly out of his mouth, "Wwhhhyy….why did this happen?"

He begins to yell, "WHY!" None of us answer. Sokka has never been like this before. Dispair has taken over him too. He hits the ground and sobs. I watch. "This can't be happening. This can' t be happening," he pleads.

"It is happening. It is. Katara is really dead. And there is nothing we can do. We did all we could, and now she is gone." Aang's words are cold, harsh, and worst of all, the truth. 


	6. Running Away

I can' t stand sitting their knowing their loss, or having to deal with mine. The way I see it, it is better just to run, go back to my parents, and leave this life behind. And so I run.

Faster. Faster. My feet slip close to the hidden mountains. I know I shouldn't be doing this. I shouldn't be leaving Sokka and Aang...

I stop. I need to go back. No matter how hard, how tough, I need to be with them. They would be there for me. They would not be here, running in a forest.

I hear a voice. It's harsh, and out of breath. "Toph!"

Sokka is standing beside me. Shame feels my heart as small tears drift from my eyes, and down my cheek…

His hand is now on my shoulder. I look him straight in the eye as I try to form words, "I'm sorrr…I'm sorr…"

"Toph." He begins. No anger or sadness is in his voice. Just pure perfection and love. But then it begins to crack as sorrow enters his words. "I can't make it thru this Toph. I can't make it through this without you. And I know, I know that you don't want to be here and you are probably regretting the day that you came and you wish more than anything that you didn't know Aang, or Katara or me. But PLEASE Toph….I'm begging you to stay because I need you."

I stand there in shock. I can't begin to comprehend his words. Did he just say he needed me? Am I needed? And within all this sorrow, all this pain, for one split second, I can't feel anything but happy because Sokka said that he needed me.

"I'll stay!" I shout, startling myself. 

We walked like that, all the way back to the campsite, shoulder to shoulder. No words were spoken.


	7. Aang

It's been three days. He still hasn't spoken to me.

"Aang! Can't you just talk to me?" I scream. He looks away.

"I didn't want this to happen! I didn't want…" I stopped. Tears began to barge into my eyes. It has been three days, but all the emotions are so strong and so real that it feels like it just happened in the last hour.

"You didn't want Katara to die? Me neither!" his voice is horse, and his tone angered as joy and relief spreads through my eyes.

"Thanks. Thanks for talking to me again."

He looked away. "I know…" he began. "I know that I shouldn't have stopped talking…but really…how can I speak…" I look at him. He is so hurt. So vulnerable.

"How can I speak knowing that she'll never hear me?"

"She can hear you Aang. Your Avatar. For all you know, she's somewhere in the spirit world floating or something…" I choked.

"Or just dead." Aang added.

"Yeah, or just dead."

He looks at me and then buries his head on my shoulder. I hold him tight. We stand there like that for a few minutes, him crying on my shoulder.

I finally speak. "Aang." I say softly. He stops sobbing.

"I better go find Sokka." He says.

I look at him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm not okay," he says, "but I'm a lot better." I look at him again and after a pause, I hear a "thanks." Then he looks at the ground. "You shouldn't be dealing with my emotions. I mean, you really didn't do this…its not your fault."

"Look," I begin. "You just had the worst thing happen to you, you lost the girl you loved, I'll do whatever I can to help that I can."

"God. I miss her so much. I really loved her. Have you ever loved someone like that?"

"Yeah." I said. And at that second, Sokka entered the doorway. "And it looks like they just entered the room."

"Hey Toph," he says.

"Hey.


	8. The Kiss

"Hey Toph."

"Hey."

Ever since Katara died, Sokka has payed more attention to me. I guess its because he's sad, and needs someone to talk to. Maybe when he gets over her death, he'll get over me too. Or maybe he'll find someone else to help him. Whatever it is, I'm glad I have him now, even if it's just for a little while. I realize now that I've always loved him, and I will never stop.

I've never had someone in my life like that. I'm blind, covered with dirt, ran away from my parents, and can beat up every guy I meet within seconds. What guy want to be with a girl like me? Let alone one like Sokka. One who has girls running up to him so fast and easy that I swear even a girl on Azula's team was flirting with him.

And now, he begins to speak. His voice is soft, almost like it use to be before Katara. "I have all these thoughts, whizzing through my head. Amazing thoughts. Insightful thoughts. I could make a beautiful speech about everything; give amazing speeches that flow just right, that give people power and hope. But these thoughts, these insights, never flow out of my mouth correctly."

I listen carefully. He seems rambling. "Where are you going with Sokka?" He doesn't listen though, just continues, staring into my eyses

"And now, I want to say so much, and I know exactly how to say it perfectly, I know exactly how to say it just right, but I can't. I can't because it won't make it to my mouth perfectly. And what I want to say, it needs to come out perfectly, because what I want to say is important and I've been meaning to tell you for a long time. So instead of speaking it with words…"

He kisses me. I kiss him back. We pull apart. "I love you Toph. I'm in love with you."

I want to stay there with him and kiss him again. He leans in to do so, but I back off. I look the other direction. Something takes over me, a sudden fear. A sudden fear that the words coming out of his mouth aren't true. That he is just saying them without thinking.

"Your sister just died." I say bluntly.

"I know." He answers, he sounds almost angry.

"You really mean what you said?"

"Of course. I thought you could tell when people are lying!" he was almost pleading now. I've never seen Sokka like this. I never seen myself like this either though.

"Well," I try and explain. "You know with Jet…I couldn't tell because he thought he was telling the truth, but he was just brainwashed."

"Toph. I'm not brainwashed."

"But we went through so much. I don't think that you are thinking clearly. I mean, you don't want to be a girl like me. One day you'll wake up and realize this. And l'll just…you'll hurt me Sokka."

"That's just it though! I've woken up! My sister is…" he choked back tears again, like we've been doing a lot of lately. It never gets easier. IT never does. "dead. And there is nothing to take that back. Nothing to make it better, but being in this sorrowful state, its made me realize what makes me happy, and who makes me happy."

I lean over and kiss him. And we kiss for quite some time. When we finally break apart, I try and collect myself. "I love you too Sokka." I say.

"I know."

A/N: I was listening to The Beatles love songs the whole time I wrote this, hence the total fluffy love. I'm sorry if its a bit OOC, I tried my best :). I hope the next chappy will be a more..o what the heck! i luv fluff!


	9. Walks and Wisdom

Alone. We are alone in a tent and the wind rushes. We huddle, all three of us together in a pack. "We're gonna make it," I say out loud, surprising myself. It has been 45 days since Katara's death. Me, Sokka, and Aang have traveled from her grave along the coast 340 miles.

We have walked the whole way despite the fact that we could have flown. It was Sokka's idea.

"If we are tired, then we will sleep easier," he had said when began our trudge. Before that, Aang cried himself to sleep every night. At least now he doesn't lie awake crying for hours, just minutes.

We didn't need to fly because we weren't in a hurry. We had nowhere to go. All we knew was that Aang still had to master the elements, meaning that he had to keep earthbending with me and sometime in the near future find a fire bending teacher. We still have no idea who that will be, but right now, Aang does not need panic. We don't want to panic him. The last discussion of his future duties of Avatar lead him to bawl screaming, ""It's all moving at warp speed? There's no time? The world will not be saved if I don't get a move on it? I know that! Don't you think I know that?" and left me and Sokka feeling hopeless. No, what Aang needs is stability, and time to heal.

And so we walked. Every day, sometimes nights, until our legs hurt so bad that our physical pain was almost as bad as our emotional ones. That the aching pain in our hearts that felt like needles was for another reason than Katara's sudden death. It was real, now, and it felt good. Endorphins.

"Yeah Toph I think we are going to be okay. The storm is not too bad," Aang replies to my sudden comment. His words show a glimpse of his old personality. "It's gonna clear out any minute, and the sun will shine." He looks at Sokka to say something, as if saying anymore will rush the old, bright, personality right from under him, as fast as the wind crashes on our earth tent. All the walking has done him good.

"Maybe we can go to the beach tomorrow!" Sokka adds smiling a little. Our relationship is going stable, It has never reached the point of intensity where we go too far too fast but I it hasn't gone a day without a kiss or an "I love you." Sokka is doing a lot better too. We shared long talks on our walks, mostly about nothing important. It was nice just to talk. "Do you still have your bathing suit Toph?" he inquires.

"Yeah I do...but that wasn't what I meant. I'm not talking about the storm you guys. I mean I think we're going to make it through life. Like, we can move past, you know...the tragedy that was placed before us. We'll never forget Katara but..."

Aang laughed out loud resulting in two strange looks from Sokka and me. Sokka was a, "what's wrong with you?" look while mine was meant to be more like, "how can you laugh at Katara's death? Are you really okay?" glance.

"What?" he says. "It's funny. Toph...being so optimistic? Sharing her feelings so openly...giving a speech?"

We laugh. It's funny. Who am I? What have I become? I chuck a rock at Sokka for laughing. He stops and hugs me tight. "We are going to be okay," he repeats. "We are going to make it."

A/N: Oh my gosh. It has almost been 4 months since I last updated this story! So much has changed in my life since March. Anywayz, the Avatar finale got me all energetic and I just spent hours on end making up pointless fanfiction over IM with my friend so I thought...why not another she who rocks chapter? I began writing, and bam! the ideas just poured through my finger tips...


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